Labour

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, welcoming the publication of Labour’s independent Kerslake Review into the Treasury this morning, said:

“I welcome this report, which has been produced by some of the leading experts in our country who have worked closely with the Treasury. And Labour will be responding in full in the coming weeks to the review.

“Labour asked Sir Bob Kerslake to head up a review into the Treasury because we needed to have a serious and thorough examination of one of the most important pillars of government, and the cornerstone of economic policy making in our country.

“The Treasury is our most important economic policymaking institution, but one that has been criticised by some for its approach and attitudes.

“This review will help shape Labour’s economic policy, as well as being an first important step in setting a new direction for the Treasury in the 21st Century. As the views of the former head of the Civil Service are ones that should be taken on board right across the economic and political spectrum in our country.

“As Sir Bob has made clear, we need the Treasury in the 21st century to be not only able to meet the big challenges of the day such as Brexit, but also one that focuses on all corners of our country, so that no one and no community is left behind. Therefore, I am deeply concerned that the review has raised this as areas which need reform.

“Given the severe challenges that our economy and our country face in the coming years, it is vital that we have a Treasury that is up-to-speed and is able to match them. The next Labour government will need to deal with many of these challenges, with what by then could potentially have been 10 years of Tory economic failure, and it will fall to us to ensure that the Treasury is ready and properly equipped for the 21st century.

“I am are deeply grateful for the contribution from all the independent members of the review’s panel, who represented many different fields of expertise, and who gave up a considerable amount of their time to take part. And I would also like thank Sir Bob Kerslake for his time, energy and expertise in producing this report for Labour.”

Lord Kerslake, former head of the Civil Service, who headed up the review, said:

“The Treasury is a small but very powerful department. To make the most of its very capable staff, it needs to fundamentally change both what it does and how it does it. It should  focus on its core economic and financial roles and work in a much more open and collaborative way. The impact of Brexit reinforces this need for change”.

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Angela Rayner, Shadow Education Secretary, commenting on the Education Select Committee’s report into the evidence for grammar schools, said:

“When even the Conservative-dominated Education Selection Committee calls Theresa May’s new grammar schools an ‘unnecessary distraction’, it’s time that ministers finally sat up and took notice.

“There is a crisis in teacher recruitment, schools budgets are being cut for the first time in decades and hundreds of thousands of pupils are in super-sized classes. The Tories should be keeping their pledge to protect school funding rather than pressing ahead with this policy which will only make things worse for the majority of children.”

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Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to Justice Secretary Liz Truss’s speech at the Centre for Social Justice, said:

“It’s about time Justice Secretary Truss stopped mud-slinging and took responsibility. Liz Truss knows full well it is not and never has been Labour’s policy to halve the prison population. Labour’s policy is to properly fund and run our prison and probation service, make the safety of prison staff a top priority and make society safer by jailing those who are a threat to public safety. Labour will make rehabilitation work.

“Conservatives in power have made a mess of our prison and probation service and have created the current prisons crisis. This is dangerous for staff, dangerous for inmates and dangerous for the public.  We await with interest the Prisons and Courts Bill which will hopefully have some of the detail Liz Truss’s White Paper failed to provide.“

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Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, responding to Sir Robert Francis’ comments on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, said:

 “Sir Robert Francis’ message is clear: the funding crisis in the NHS is putting patient care at risk. The NHS should be the safest and best in the world, but Sir Robert’s warning is that this cannot be achieved given the scale of the financial crisis now engulfing hospital departments up and down the country. 

 “The Tories’ behaviour to date has been to blame patients and doctors for the pressures facing the NHS. But the truth is that the cause of this crisis lies squarely at the feet of The Prime Minister. Theresa May must immediately agree to bring forward a comprehensive funding package for health and social care in the March Budget so no patients are put a risk of harm or unsafe care.“

Justin Madders MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Minister, responding to reports that a lack of Government planning means that Locum Doctors are being paid up to £363 an hour, said:

“The Government has completely failed to deliver on NHS workforce planning and now they are losing control of NHS finances as well.

“It’s not right that this amount of money is leaking out the system to agencies and temporary staff at a time when funding is so tight that operations are being cancelled and services cut back.

“The cap on agency payments has been breached a shocking 2.7 million times in just nine months. The Government needs a solution to help the NHS get the permanent staff it needs to keep patients safe.  

“Jeremy Hunt should be making sure money meant for the NHS is going to patient care, not private agencies.“

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